MaureenDurney.Com

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Month: January 2020 (Page 1 of 4)

January Ultimate Blog Challenge Sunset

31/01/2020 / / 4 Comments

Living in the Southern Hemisphere can sometimes be problematic. But it can also be a blessing. As the sun sets on the January Ultimate Blog Challenge for 2020, I might get away with squeezing an extra blog in… maybe.

In the Northern Hemisphere, I’m hoping it is still the 30th January. Here in the Land Down Under, it has been the 31st January, all day. So if I go by the date in the Northern Hemisphere, the challenge doesn’t end for a while yet.

So, how did I go?

Well – better than I expected, but still not up there with the winners.

By my quick calculation, this post will bring me up to twenty two posts out of a possible thirty-one. Hmmm… not good, but not as bad as I thought I’d do.

I think I started out well, and somehow just fizzled out toward the end. Perhaps I need to pace myself better.

Was it worth it?

Definitely!

Image by yogesh more from Pixabay

Each time I sign up for the challenge, I learn something new. And the January Ultimate Blog Challenge didn’t let me down.

Each blog I wrote gave me a different experience. Sometimes the writing flowed and was easy; other times it was laboured and hard. And in the process I worked out what my niche is, by discovering what it isn’t.

When I narrowed down what my niche is, I had a major breakthrough on a possible theme to focus future blog posts on.

Getting in touch with my writing style gave me an insight into what works for me.

When I found my style, it was like finding my rhythm. And my fingers tapped out the rhythm on my keyboard. It might not be your beat, but it is mine. And I’ve always marched to a different drum.

Staying true to my style is where the January Ultimate Blog Challenge has taken me.

All I have to do now is marry my style, to my my newly-found (possible) niche.

And Blog On!

WYSIWYG!

29/01/2020 / / 6 Comments

If you’ve been around the tech world for a while, you will have come across WYSIWYG.

I remember the first time I heard the word.

WYSIWYG!

I am still fascinated by the sound the word makes as it slides off your tongue.

Wait – You haven’t heard of WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get

Think – WizzyWig, and you’ve got it.

Never mind what it means, it just sounds cool, doesn’t it?

But WYSIWYG is more than just a pretty face word.

I’m a blogger. I know other bloggers. And we all spend a lot of time writing blogs.

So why would we want to spend heaps of time putting code into a website?

Don’t get me wrong, I love using HTML!

But I’m not trained in HTML – I just dabble in it.

Like:

“Google – What’s the HTML for a heading?”

There is something romantic and mysterious about using HTML, but it’s like drinking decaf coffee…. Why would you bother?

I built my website the easy way – on the WordPress platform. And WordPress has Gutenberg. Using Gutenberg is as easy as building with blocks.

That’s a very simplistic description because Gutenberg does a heck of a lot more than that.

If I want to add a Heading with Gutenberg – I just select the heading I want, and Gutenberg does the HTML for me.

WordPress didn’t always have Gutenberg.

Gutenberg launched with WordPress 5.0. I’d been hearing about it for a while at Meetups and WordCamps, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. So when a Beta version plugin was announced prior to the launch, I installed it on my main website. But not without some deliberation.

From the first encounter, I was hooked. And it was the WYSIWYG that snagged me.

Sadly, some of the platforms I write for don’t use Gutenberg, so I still get to dabble in some of the romantic HTML stuff.

But for the rest of my writing?

I love WYSIWYG!

Why Prolific Artists Have Messy Homes

28/01/2020 / / 8 Comments

If you are a prolific artist who struggles to keep a neat and tidy house, you probably don’t need to read any further. You already know why prolific artists have messy homes.

My local Art Gallery is home to a reconstruction of part of Margaret Olley’s house. You can look in the windows and see remnants of the flowers Margaret used as inspiration for a painting.

Empty cans and paint tubes litter the kitchen. Easels, palettes and treasures from travels, cover every nook and cranny.

Margaret would offer a meal to visitors when they arrived. Most would decline, claiming they had just eaten. Those with a more robust constitution tell of the great meals Margaret would whip up, seemingly effortlessly, amidst the clutter.

Margaret’s art filled many exhibitions and her fame spread far and wide.

But what if?

I’m not an artist – I’m not even a painter. But I do share Margaret’s definition of a neat house.

When I’m not creating, I tidy my house, and it stays tidy until the next creative idea bursts forth. Creative pursuits have absolute precedence over mundane chores. Only the most urgent matters penetrate the creative cocoon I build around me.

Perhaps that’s how it was with Margaret?

Don’t accept someone else’s reality as your own. It isn’t!

Did well-meaning people try to pressure Margaret Olley into conforming to their reality?

What if Margaret had conformed?

There are homes with no clutter. And homes where you are afraid to step inside because they feel so sterile or fragile.

What if Margaret had chosen to spend hours each day tidying her house? Finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place: dusting; polishing; de-cluttering; mopping.

In her dying moments would she look back and be proud of her incredibly neat and tidy home?

We will never know.

Because if she looked back in those last moments of her existence, Margaret would see the legacy she was leaving the world. The hundreds of beautiful works of art she created that will live on forever.

Margaret Olley’s paintings are the testament of her creative life, and the world will be eternally grateful.

What legacy will you leave behind?

Will future generations remember the tidy home you had?

Or will you leave behind thousands of words that will inform and entertain?

I know the legacy I want to leave behind – and it isn’t a tidy home…

My Broken Website!

27/01/2020 / / 2 Comments

It’s 9pm on Sunday night. Thank goodness it’s a long weekend, or I’d be panicking! The day has gone, the blog post isn’t written, but I fixed my broken website today.

And the Blog?

A broken website wasn’t on the plan for today. Nope. Today was going to be catch up on writing day. Well – catch up on the Ultimate Blog Challenge, actually.

That was the plan – before I checked my email.

There, glaring at me, was an email from WordPress. No, not personally from WordPress. I mean, it had the word WordPress on it. And it had the words technical error; broken; and the name of the theme I use, but not necessarily in that order.

I get a lot of emails like that and I don’t take a lot of notice. They’re usually just alerting me to a broken link, or a plugin needing an update. But this one was different. When I saw those ‘broken’ and ‘technical error’ words, I panicked.

Was my website broken? Were all my blogs gone?

Once I calmed down and started thinking a little more rationally, I logged into my website, held my breath, and closed my eyes.

Image by ijmaki from Pixabay 

Then I slowly opened one eye, then the other, and then started to breathe again.

If there was something wrong, I couldn’t tell. I mean, it looked okay to me. And my blogs were all there. Phew!

The problem had something to do with a recent update on one of the plugins. And the fact the theme hadn’t kept up with the updated plugin, which seemingly made them both incompatible.

But it was a big enough scare to send me scurrying off to Google in search of another theme.

I needed a theme that:

  • would play nicely with Gutenberg (WordPress Block system)
  • has had a significant number of installations
  • scored mostly five-stars on a lot of reviews
  • was recommended by someone I trust

Beginner’s Guide

On the first Google page was WPBeginner’s post of 26 Best Gutenberg Friendly WordPress Themes (2020). And I trust WPBeginner, so I clicked on the link.

The link opened to a well-organised page that gave the basic description of each recommendation, which made it easy to choose the best theme for my humble needs.

Installation and activation were quick and easy, as I would expect from a popular plugin. Oh, and it was f-r-e-e, which is even better.

I love how easy it is to switch themes in WordPress. Naturally, I used live preview so I could see how my site would look, before I hit the final button. And yes, it might take some getting used to the different layout, but it looked okay.

My new theme is the most customisable theme I’ve ever used.

So today, I tweaked my new theme.

One of the first things I checked was the comments section. It seems to be working – well it was when I sent myself a test comment. But if you find any problems with it, please let me know.

Tweaking is by no means finished, but I’ll work on it over the next few days.

And I don’t have a broken website!

Travel Light, and Write Light

25/01/2020 / / 12 Comments

If you do a lot of travelling, you’ll know the value of packing light for a trip. And the same goes for writing. Having travelled and written the hard way for too long, I now travel light, and write light.

How to pack for a trip

The nomads of the world are quick to tell us how to pack less and travel light:

  • Roll instead of fold – and fit everything into a backpack. Watch the YouTube Video below to see how easy it is.
  • Pack less – wash small items at night and hang them in the shower

Hint: Roll wet items in a towel to squeeze out excess moisture. They will dry much faster.

Okay, a small backpack might be a bit extreme, but you get the idea.

Plan to succeed!

You can certainly cut down on luggage (and weight) by careful planning.

The consistent tip from packing-gurus is the ‘half-method’. Gather up what you think you’ll need, and then eliminate half.

In my case, I may have to repeat that last step a few times before my luggage resembles ‘smart packing’. When I think back to the trips where a lot of what I packed never left the suitcase, the half method makes a lot of sense.

But, Write Light?

The more I write, the more refined my writing becomes. And it didn’t take long to realise I didn’t need a lot of the words I used. They were the ‘extra stuff’. Like taking two sets of pyjamas, where one would do.

I write, edit, and cut back. It might not be by half, but I certainly hack those extra words out of the story.

This is what I cut from one of the sentences above:

Original sentence:

And it didn’t take too long to realise that I didn’t need a lot of the words I used.

There was no change to the meaning – I just eliminated the extra words.

Some of my writing habits were formed at College. And old habits die hard.

An assignment would include a suggested word-limit. The intent was probably ‘write no more than this number of words, but get as close as you can’.

I remember one time when my word count was not exactly close to the assigned number.

So I (may have) exaggerated the number of words… a little. Who would have thought lecturers had time to count every word (I’m talking pre-technology, as in, hand-written)?

That assignment came back with a note attached:

‘My guesstimate is …. words’.

So from then on, I added all the extra words I could muster. They probably had little to do with the topic, but they made the word count look more respectable. And it kept that particular lecturer happy.

Am I there yet?

I still pack more than I need for a trip, but not as much as I used to.

And my writing still carries some ‘extra stuff’, but I keep on culling until I eliminate most of the fluff.

What are your tips for how to travel light and write light?

Keeping it Weird

24/01/2020 / / 2 Comments

The bumper-sticker ‘Keepin’ it Weird Austin, Texas‘, has a special place in my home. Not that I’ve been there, but my son has. And I love that there is a whole city that is weird – and proud!

And if Alexis is anything to go by, then I’m all for a whole city of weird.

Let me tell you about Alexis.

A friend and I stopped for a coffee at The Churchill while holidaying in Wellington, New Zealand, a couple of years ago. The coffee was good and the conversation with the young girl who took our order was even better.

Being the chatty person I am, I asked where her accent was from. I’m never sure whether it’s a Canadian or American accent, and I’ve learned from experience to never, ever guess. Some Canadians get a bit upset if you get it wrong. It’s a bit like asking an Australian what part of New Zealand they’re from.

Keeping it weird

Alexis was from Austin, Texas.

My American friend was quick to remind Alexis of the – keeping it weird in Austin – slogan.

But as far as weird goes, there was nothing weird about Alexis. She was an extraordinary young person on a working holiday in New Zealand; and in the course of the conversation Alexis told us her next journey would be to Australia. Naturally, I gave her my contact details and asked her to stay in touch. And she did.

The Vlog!

I had never heard of a Vlog – but Alexis has one.

Instead of writing about your holiday – you Video it. Add a bit of background music and dialogue and you’ve got yourself a Vlog. It’s a great way of sharing places you’ve been.

Alexis made it to Australia and I caught up with her in Byron Bay. And there was just enough time to show her around my area before she set off on another adventure.

Alexis loved the sunset at Tumbulgum

And I am really glad they are keeping it weird in Austin. I’m totally okay with that.

Is eccentric the same as weird?

Maybe that’s why I like the idea of keeping it weird – it fits so well with my eccentricity.

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